family Archives - Lauren Sparks

As I sit here listening to Shelby’s music therapy session and know that within a few hours I will have a houseful of guests, my mind is not much for writing. This may not be my best attempt, but I have failed to set aside time as I’ve cooked and cleaned and made preparations for Thanksgiving. So it’s now or never (for this week anyway).

We observed the time change to usher in this month and we see the leaves changing and falling as we escort it out. And ready or not, the holidays are here. I want to go on record as saying that the first thing I give thanks for is Allie’s release from concussion protocol. The process stressed us all and taught us a lot. And I am not sad to see it go. A sweet friend of our family invited us to her wedding shower and Shelby and I gladly accepted and went. Of all people I know, this young lady is worth celebrating.

Our kids’ school district hosted a viewing of the documentary film Angst and my husband and I thought it important to attend since our youngest struggles with anxiety. A counselor friend of mine insists that most teens today probably suffer as well. The NIH says 1 out of every 3. I recommend looking at this website and seeking out a screening if you know or suspect that a teen you love is affected.

My sweet Mama invited me to a fall luncheon at her church where we heard Rachel Anne Ridge speak. She owns a donkey named Flash and wrote a book by the same name as well as Walking with Henry (another donkey), Made to Belong, and Flash the Donkey Makes New Friends (a children’s book). I squeezed in another lunch with a couple of cherished high school friends and loved catching up. We went to a dinner fundraiser for Allie’s choir as well as one for Hope Squad – a suicide prevention group Allie helps with at school. Whew. All this eating and as I’m writing Thanksgiving is still a day away.

I feel privileged to have added to my yoga teaching schedule two groups of special needs adults. Pretty challenging to instruct, but so near and dear to my heart. I also got to take a dear one to a big doctor’s appointment and provide meals for two others dealing with health issues. God is so very kind to allow me these opportunities.

One of the biggest highlights of the month has been Baylor football. I fall more and more in love with it every fall and getting to go to the game against the University of Texas with my best friend of 25 years was a treat. So much fun to get to see this team, who have fought back from so much, earn their spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Getting to spend the better part of the weekend with my favorite family (other than my own) iced the cake. I even blew up an air mattress on the floor of Patsy’s family’s hotel room for a night. I’m so grateful they let me share in their vacation time.

We took Shelby to see Frozen II and we all loved it. Then the girls and I took in Playing with Fire with my sister and two nieces. It was a weird movie, but I’m still laughing about parts of it. There are so many good movies out right now that I’m not sure how we can possibly fit them in, but I would love to try. But now, I must close and finish preparations for my husband’s family. As always, I love you, I thank you and I hope December treats you well.

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Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
    and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
¹⁵Then call on me when you are in trouble,
    and I will rescue you,
    and you will give me glory.  Psalm 50:14 NLT

As a family we sit in a very different place than this time last year. And the year before that. With my husband back in a stable work environment and my cancer in the rear view mirror, we have many reasons to praise and thank God. Actually, the truth is that God deserves our thanks ALWAYS, but in my faithlessness, I forget.

If you have followed this blog for longer than a minute (thank you!), then you know my recent history of doubting God’s kindness and goodness while in the throes of painful experiences. It actually took the funeral of a two year old boy to wake me up to my own stubborn ungratefulness. The precious parents of this boy asked for the mourners at his service to sing the song “Good Good Father” by Chris Tomlin. Two week prior the praise band at church lead us in this very song and I refused to sing. In my heart, I didn’t feel it. And yet these missionaries (once over seas, but on this day to me) knew that our Father God is always good. They sang of this goodness with empty arms and broken hearts. And I realized I could too.

That’s what Psalm 50:14 is all about. We bring glory to God when we praise Him for His provision, even as we wonder how the bills will get paid. We bring Him glory when we thank Him for family, even with strained relationships in the picture. We honor Him when we thank Him for a life even after that life passes on. We show the world His tender mercies when we thank Him for his comfort in the midst of hard times. And we showcase His majesty when we accept His gift of Jesus with a beholden spirit.

As young parents, we started a new tradition to help us and the kids remember all God does for us (and emphasize the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday) by putting up a thankfulness tree. For many years we adorned our artificial tree with construction paper leaves and turkeys with handwritten Bible verses about giving thanks. We also wrote on them the names of the people and things for which we were most grateful. This year with my bonus son out of the house (and married with kids of his own) and both daughters firmly in their teen years, the construction paper didn’t seem quite as charming. So we decided to let our tree grow up and bought a few ornaments instead. Acorns, leaves, pumpkins and footballs now hang on the branches. But even though we changed the tree, I wasn’t ready to give up our family gratitude practice.

We now have a tabletop card holder in the middle of our kitchen table with a sharpie and blank leaves and turkeys and pumpkins. Every time we sit down to dinner as a family, we add something we are thankful for. Some days it’s easy to give thanks, and sometimes it’s a sacrifice to set aside our feelings and look at who God is. Who He has always been, through good times and bad. Because the truth beyond our circumstances is that He is good. And it’s always for our sanctification to acknowledge it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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